Megan Stammers case: teacher Jeremy Forrest to appear in court

A judge is expected to approve Jeremy Forrest's extradition to the UK when he
appears in court in Bordeaux, south-west France, today.

The couple is believed to have spent the six nights at the Huguerie Hotel, In BordeauxPhoto: Google Maps

By Henry Samuel, Bordeaux

7:26AM BST 02 Oct 2012

The maths teacher who ran away to France with his pupil Megan Stammers will appear in court in Bordeaux today to face extradition proceedings.

Jeremy Forrest, 30, was found with the 15-year-old in the city in south-west France on Friday after they had spent more than a week on the run together.

His extradition to the UK is expected to be approved when he is brought before a judge today, and a source familiar with the case said he could be back “within 24 hours.”

According to Mr Forrest’s French lawyer, he is not resisting extradition as it will bring him closer to Megan.

Meanwhile it has emerged that French police let the schoolgirl and teacher slip through their fingers despite being told where they were staying by a British expatriate days before they were finally found.

The pair fled to France on September 20 after boarding a ferry to Calais and taking a train from Paris to Bordeaux.

They spent their first night in the Hotel Choiseul, a two-star hotel in the city centre, but on Monday it became clear that they spent the next six nights – from Saturday to last Friday – in an even cheaper one in the same road, the Huguerie Hotel with rooms at €32 (£23).

Staff said they kept two bags packed at all times “as if they were ready to run” from their hideaway at a moment’s notice.

A British expatriate, Ian Loveridge, yesterday said he tipped off British police last Tuesday to say he had spotted Megan in the street at around 4pm after seeing an appeal for her return on TV.

The builder, 48, who lives a three-hour drive away in Farlat, said: “I saw a young girl standing at the top of the street and recognised it was Megan straight away mainly because she looked so out of place.”

After driving round the block, he saw her turn and walk back towards the hotel. “Forrest was standing next to the entrance and she gave him a big hug,” he said.

“They then disappeared into the hotel. They both looked very comfortable in each other’s company and clearly wanted to be with each other.

“I was picking up my partner nearby at the time and struggled to get through to the police on the phone but later spoke to someone at Hampshire police, which is where I used to live, to pass on the information.”

French police only called in on the hotel two days later, leaving empty-handed after the owner failed to recognise Megan from a photo.

“I’m surprised it took the police two days to go to the hotel and check out my information,” said Mr Loveridge.

“They may well have caught the train to Spain or Italy and who knows if or when they would have been found.”

Police finally intercepted the pair after Mr Forrest asked for work in a British pub and handed out a fake CV on Thursday.

The British manageress contacted UK police, who alerted French colleagues. Plain-clothes officers intercepted the pair as they walked “hand in hand” in a nearby busy shopping street.

Gerald Agier, owner of the Huguerie Hotel, said Mr Forrest had arrived alone, checking in under the false name of 'Dean’.

“He didn’t speak too much. He said he was looking to rent an apartment in the city. He paid in advance with cash until Thursday and I gave him the key.”

Maria Vega, the hotel cleaner, said: “Everything was always packed into two big bags. It looked as if they were preparing to leave quickly.”

Megan, a pupil at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne, has already returned to the UK.